CDNComix

Dead Spawn #1-4 Published by: Joseph Treacy; Contributors: Joseph Treacy (#1-4); Pablo Marcos (#1); David Anthony Kraft (#1); Rich Buckler (#1); Jim Craig (#1); Greg Spagnola (#1-2); Mark A. Batdorf (#1);; E. J. Pace (#1); David Kirby (#1); Jimmy Traylor (#1): Ed Vance (#1); Randy McClennan (#1-2); Marc Hempel (#2-3); Doug Hansen (#2-4); Joe Sinardi (#2); Conway Perez (#2); Ron Wilbur (#2 and #4); A. B. Clingan (#2); Len Lisiewicz (#3); C.C Clingan (#3); Gene Day (#3-4); Greg Bear (#3); Serena Fusek (#3); Eric Kimball (#3); Russ Martin (#3); Randall Larson (#3); Robert Rodriguez (#4); Laurence Bartone (#4); John Findley (#4); Richard Pini (#4); Wendy Pini (#4); Janet Fox (#4); Rudy Nebres (#4); Trina Robbins (#4); Stephanie Sterns (#4); Bruce Weinstock (#4); Chuch Fala (#4) and Rick Geary (#4). Date: 1975; 1976; 1980; 1982; Price: one dollar; ncp; ncp; $7.95; Page Count: 20 pages excluding 2 pages of ad inserts; 30 pages; cardboard holding box/sleeve with 9 booklets; cardboard holding box/sleeve with 10 booklets; Size: #1-2: magazine (7.5 x 11.0); #3: comic (7.25 x 9.5); #4: comic (7.0 x 8.5); Kennedy #: ground level # 58-60; #4 not cited due to its later publication date; Print information: one printing; #1 (500 copies); #2 (1000 copies); #3 (1500 copies) and #4 (unknown). Listed by Kennedy in the ground level section of his guide, Dead Spawn is a four issue prozine that was published over the span of six years. The first issue started as a typical zine that mainly contained articles and information related to "alternative" comics punctuated by the occasional amateur illustration. The second issue was published a decent amount of comic content. But it is the last two issues that are special and would perhaps tempt a non-zine collector into purchasing them. Dead Spawn #3 and #4 adopted a box holder form that contained comic related booklets created by some underground notables, including Doug Hansen, Trina Robbins and Rick Geary. Hansen's comic with a view through its pop-up is featured in the last image.

If you do not own a copy then my recommendation is to buy it! How can you wrong for a dollar?

Stone Graphix Published by: Stonegraphic Press; Contributors: John Fish; Richard Loewenkamp; Date: 1972; Price: two dollars; Page Count: 48 pages; Size: magazine (7.5 x 11.0); Kennedy #: 1891; Print information: one printing; 500 copies softcover; 2 copies hardcover; A cool flipbook that was shared between two hippie graphics artists that showcases their contributions to zeitgeist of psychedelic art era. Surprisingly difficult to find a for a 500 copy publication.

Breaking Up Your Guide to Painful Separation Published by: self published; Contributor: Lynda J. Barry; Date: 1981; Price: no cover price; Page Count: 22 pages that includes 2 transparent red covers; 2 pink cover pages; 18 single sided comic pages; Size: magazine (8.5 x 11.0); transparent covers slightly larger; Kennedy #: 346; Print information: one printing; number of copies unknown; On page 9 of this thread, I posted a title called Tales From the Steam Tunnel which is an anthology of student work from Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. Many comic notables attended this school including: Steve Willis, Charles Burns, Matt Groening, Tucker Petertil, Craig Bartlett and of course Lynda J. Barry. I joke within the post that there must have been something special in the school’s water supply at that time for it to produce so many success stories. And based upon Lynda’s later publishing career/minor empire, she must have drank more than her fair share of the water.

I am not a slabber per say. But your book - a 9.2 C*nt Comix - is one of the underground keys that I would buy slabbed or get slabbed. Gorgeous and thanks for the share.

That (Collected Trash Comix) is a beauty and thank you for sharing. Kennedy did list an ultra-rare title called "Trash Comix - Revolutionary Comix for Today's Revolutionary". But your book is a different publication and it's new to me. Very cool.

Flimsy Excuses Published by: self published; Contributors: Dalison Darrow as Lily Gilding; Date: 1980; Price: no cover price; Page count: 8 pages; Size: digest (4.5 x 7.0); Kennedy #: 734; Print information: one printing; 50 copies; There are a few minor surprises with this book if you are able to find a copy. Gary Panter is credited by some as producing the first colour copy comic (As*hole). I will not open that one. But one could say that Flimsy Excuses is the first all colour (photocopied) comic, except it’s not a comic, but closer in form to a “mail art” publication. Flimsy Excuses is listed within the F(i)s of the Kennedy Guide, not as a F(l) publication. It is easy to imagine that proper alphabetization would be a challenge in the days prior to electronic publication.

Gods of Mount Olympus in Ancient Mythology (#1-3, "Venus and Mars" poster giveaway) Published by: Quintessence Publications; Contributors: Johnny Achziger; Joe Staton; Date: 1974; Price: one dollar; Page count: 16 pages per issue; Size: newspaper (11 x 17); Kennedy #: listed in above grounds; #97-99; Print information: one printing; number of copies unknown; In 1982, Kennedy gave a tip-of-the-hat to the alternative comic by listing over 200 comics in an “aboveground” section located at the back of his guide. The titles listed within these citations are not equally beloved by all underground collectors, but I definitely support Kennedy’s decision to be inclusive or I may not have ever paid attention to a Bronze Age gem like the Gods of Mount Olympus in Ancient Mythology (GOMO) “trilogy”. The trilogy borders on the “uncommon” with complete set (often unfolded examples) selling for as low as $20-25. But there is an undocumented (within Kennedy’s Guide) wrinkle for stricter collectors: mail subscribers also received a one page poster of “Venus and Mars” as a thank you giveaway. I was not aware of its existence until a member of Fogel’s FB thread shared his example. I was curious about the history of GOMO and its giveaway, so I reached out to its publisher (Johnny Achziger) and he was kind enough to reply: “I don't remember if the Venus print was also 3000 (or was it 2000?) copies. I know I sent one out to everyone who ordered through the mail, but beyond that I'm not sure how many I printed. What happened was this: Mail order sales were nowhere near what I'd hoped, so I took half the print run of all 3 issues with me to a convention in Houston (1974, I think). I sold maybe 20 of each. Since my car broke down on the way and I rented a U-Haul to get there, I didn't want to rent another one to haul all those home (I just wanted to take a bus). So I just decided to abandon them, right there at the hotel (I was pretty dejected, and dumb!). But I'd met Chuck Rozanski there (he even slept on my room's floor) and he said he'd take them all. So he loaded up his car and took the thousands of copies home with him to Denver (where he now owns a chain of Mile High Comics). I don't recall bringing any of the posters with me, but if I did, then he got them. Chuck told me a few years ago that all the copies were sitting on a pallet somewhere in one of his warehouses. I don't know if they are available for sale or not. And again, I don't know if he got any of the posters. The balance of the print run was disposed of a few years later (I guess my Mom got tired of them sitting around) and I do not have even one copy of any issue. I do have a copy of the print and will try to attach it here. Hope that helps your quest. There was an article I wrote about the whole situation, including a long interview with Joe Staton) a few years ago in one of Two Morrows magazines (Comic Book Artist?) and a smaller article in the Star Reach Companion book.”

Bernice Saves Grizzly Harry (aka Nightmare Living Room #1) and Nightmare Living Room #2 Published by: Gary Arlington (SFCC); Contributor: S. Clay Wilson; Date: #1 copyrighted 1969; #2 copyrighted 1968; Price: no cover price; Eric Fromm giveaway; Page Count: single sided sheet; Size: magazine (8.5 x 11.0); Kennedy #: #1 (239); #2 (1375); Print information: one printing; #2 has a regular and heavier print stock version; number of copies unknown; Two single sided sheet giveaways that were included as "Eric Fromm" giveaways when customers made a larger mail order through the mail order branch of Gary Arlington's comic shop.

S. Clay Wilson Party Invite Published by: self published; Contributor: S. Clay Wilson; Date: 1972; Price: giveaway; Page Count: one sided postcard; Size: postcard (5.75 x 7.0); Kennedy #: not listed; ephemera; Print information: one printing; number of copies unknown; I guess one would have many friends and be invited to a few parties being a young S. Clay Wilson (early 30s) and living in San Francisco in 1972,. But I could not ever imagine that Wilson would design the invite to a going away party that was held in 1972 for Larry and Darya Johnson. The postcard-sized invite was photographically reproduced as a standard black and white glossy. The couple still reside in San Francisco but I am hesitant to contact an elderly couple for more details: how did they know Wilson, did he attend the party, under what circumstances did he produce the invite (long time friends etc.), how many were produced and sent. Unfortunately with Wilson's recent passing (February 7th, 2021), these answers are now probably only known by them.

Atomic Bondage Published by: A Laughing Man Productions; Contributor: Mark S. Fisher; Date: 1983; Price: no cover price; Page Count: 16 pages; Size: small comic (folded; 6.5 x 8.5); Kennedy #: post publication of guide; Print information: one printing; number of copies unknown; On page 12 of this thread, there’s another a 1983 title “It’s Me” that was also produced by Mark Fisher under his “Laughing Man Productions” banner. Beyond the art what makes this title interesting to me is its name and an ad in the Kennedy Guide. Anyone who owns a Kennedy Guide probably has noticed an ad near the back for a 48 page, colour magazine comic ($1.95) with the same title and cover as this book. That magazine was never published which Mark Fisher to salvage some of its content and re-package it into a smaller self-published comic. To make matters worse, I had for years assumed that the "Atomic Bondage" cited in the Kennedy Guide was Fisher's Laughing Man published title. Nope, same name but the Kennedy cited book is a different publication that was produced by another person, Brian Anthony who was responsible for Saucy Sci-Fi #1 and #2.

Since someone was kind enough to post their recent acquisition of Strawberry Funnies #2, I would like to round back to my original post of the first printing. I wondered if some the other editions or printings described by Kennedy actually existed or were described properly. I have found out since that posting that they do. I collecting friend of mine (VM) was kind enough to share a couple of recent finds with me. It turns out that Kennedy's "hand coloured cover ($10)" version edition is a "second edition" of the first printing. Meaning that Tom Foster took a standard copy and hand coloured the front covers and sold it for $10 (it is definitely not marked with that price): The same friend also shared an image of Kennedy's uncoloured ($5) second "printing". What appears to be going on here is that Tom Fisher had leftover guts from the first printing to which he affixed an oversized card covers with artwork that is different from the first printing: Here's Kennedy's second printing (which I was aware and purchased since my original post) from 1984. I would consider it to be the third printing. It has cover artwork as the "third edition" but in colour also unile the "third edition" the guts and covers mach in size: Recap: There appear to be four editions of Strawberry Funnies #2. The first edition (1980) had red/white/black covers of which 500 copies were signed and numbered. An unknown number of the first edition were hand coloured and sold for $10 as a second edition (1980). Foster produced an uncoloured, "$5" third edition (1980, number of copies unknown) that appears to be made from leftover guts from the first edition to which he added oversized card covers with new artwork. In 1984, Foster produced the fourth edition that had the same artwork as the "third edition" but in colour (1000 copies).

Yes, both of those are quite nice and important. The only reason I do not post books like those is because most collectors/persons can readily find their own supporting information concerning these types of books. I definitely collect them and love them as you do. So did you do a tape measuring test o determine if you had a first printing of Zap Comix #4?

Yes, that is correct there were 100 copies of Funny Papers #1 produced. A second and third issue were also produced at 250 copies each. All 3 books were cited in Jay Kennedy's The Official Underground and Newave Comix Price Guide (1982) - #807 -809. Because it was cited by guide it is considering to be "underground".

Do not forget about this early standalone publication appearance (folded broadside, protest giveaway, 1969):

I do not want to be one of those, but I would not consider Pizzazz to be a "true" comic but more of a comic-related item from a comic publisher. The term bronze should only apply to actual comics. I do no know, but it could be the rarest Marvel publication instead. A really nice item though, you must be thrilled.

First Empire Funnies (first, second and third printings) Published by: San Francisco Comic Book Co. (first); Cay Geerdes/Comix World (second and third); Contributor: Pat Daley; Date: 1972 (first); 1975 (second); 1986 (third); Price: 7 cents; Page Count: 8 pages; Size: mini (4.0 x 5.5); first printing slightly longer; Kennedy #: 737 (did not cite later editions beyond the first); Print information: three printings; first two printing white stock; third printing coral stock (maybe); number of copies unknown; Due to COV-19, I have been locked away in my apartment since March. I have been separated from the scanner and my Kennedy Guide both of which are at work and I have unable to post anything since. Thanks for the postings (especially you Victor) that have occurred since my last one in early March. Hopefully it will not be much longer to return to business as usual. Like Self-Destruct (page 19 of this thread), First Empire Funnies is an early San Francisco Comic Book Co. "sevencenter" mini that seem to be rarer than the rest of the pack. Both of these titles are scarcer than the revolutionary first title in the series Spare Comics. I am not sure of the reason for this or how to explain it, but I would love to know the answer. Another surprise is that I only became recently aware of the existence of two later editions by Clay Geerdes/Comix World which you can see listed on his Comix World title/catalog overview (second edition: lower left corner of first page, 1975; third edition: slightly higher and to the right of center of the second page, 1986): If you notice in the citation for the second edition, Geerdes credits Kitchen Sink with the publication of the first edition. I checked with Denis Kitchen and this is incorrect: "Nope. Clay Geerdes was clearly not an impeccable source. Kitchen Sink had nothing whatever to do with Pat Daley’s comic". Having never handled any edition of First Empire Funnies, I was still determined to find out how Comix World editions differed from the original. Not only is scholarship an important aspect of the hobby, but such information also has a important practical side to a collector: avoid purchasing the wrong edition. I managed to find and purchase 2 distinct white stock versions of First Empire Funnies and found an image of coral example that is for sale on-line: The publication information is identical for both examples with white stock and there is no "Comix World" identifier, so which is possibly the true first edition and which is possibly the second? If you notice in the side-by-side comparison the slightly tan version (right and bottom) is longer than the whiter version and has better print and fine line resolution especially around: rays around the side border, jacket cuff, shadows on the face, fine lines on the jacket front and within the publishing info. The slightly tan version is a first generation print and the whiter version is a second generation source. If you are the proud owner of a copy of First Empire Funnies you should go back into your collection and have a look to confirm which edition it is! To complicate the issues I have been long aware of an example that was posted on poopsheet: https://www.poopsheetfoundation.com/index.php/pf-database/mini-comics/first-empire-funnies I had assumed that it either was a bad photocopy of an original that was shared between collectors or possibly (but unlikely) a true first edition done by Pat Daley herself. I just wanted to make clear that I definitely do not have all the answers regarding this title and stress the importance of keeping an open mind. What about the coral edition that I had mentioned earlier? Again this is an on-line image and I have not handled the actual copy, but I am going to assume that it is the Clay Geerdes/Comix World third edition from 1986. Why? Just because the choice of stock colour matches what Geerdes was into when publishing his later titles. I do not know if it is marked anyway (beyond the use of loudly coloured stock) to distinguish it from the original.

A decent copy (definitely not as nice as one in this thread) sold at auction: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Windblade-No-1-by-Barry-Blair-Nightwynd-Arkum-Books-Very-Rare-/392765616119?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=glurtJwsTNSLGke4H3vJ4cOYrr0%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc eBay, April 27th 2020, maybe 7.0 grade, $152

The Last Toque Published by: Ralph T. Reese; Contributors: Ralph T. Reese; George Metzger; Terry Stroud; Martin; Date: 1971; Price: 35 cents; Page Count: 16 pages; Size: newspaper (11.5 x 17.75); Kennedy #: 1143; Print information: one printing; number of copies unknown; Fairly early all-comix underground newspaper from some of the people responsible for also contributing/creating/publishing other underground notables such as: Gory Stories, Eternal Tales, Everwuchawe (Terry Stroud); Big Apple, 100% Organic Compost, Enigma!, Drool (Ralph Reese); Brain Fantasy, Fog City, No Ducks and many others (George Metzger). No idea who Martin is or was.

This is Not Zebra #2 Published by: Clandestine Comic Company; Contributor: Al Greenier; Date: 1972; Price: no cover price; Page Count: 8 pages; Size: mini (4.25 x 5.5); Kennedy #: 2000; Print information: one printing; number of copies unknown; Similar story to Tom Hosier's Worm Magazine (see page 18 of this thread), where Al Greenier as a high school student produced and circulated a zine called Zebra. Because Zebra spoofed some of the school's faculty, it was banned by administrators and Greenier had to promise to not produce any further issues. Greenier bent his promise by producing This is not Zebra #1 and #2.

Gloomy Tunes and Morbid Melodies Published by: Texas Print Inc.; Contributor: Douglas Bryson; Date: 1975; Price: 50 cents; Page Count: 28 pages; Size: magazine (8.5 x 11.0); Kennedy #: 870; Print information: one printing; 500 numbered copies; Kennedy cites that there were 500 numbered copies of Gloomy Tunes and these were signed. My copy and a few fully described on-line copies were not signed. Perhaps only a percentage of the total were indeed signed by Byson or the actual copy cited by Kennedy was a special case.

C*nt Fart Funnies Published by: Clandestine Comics Company; Contributors: Al Grennier; Tom Hosier; Scar Tissue; Ti-Yi; D. Micloskey; Worm; Date: 1973; Price: 25 cents; Page Count: 24 pages; Size: mini (4.25 x 5.5); Kennedy #: 562; Print information: one printing; number of copies unknown; By the time Al Grennier's and Tom Hosier's Purple Warp series was beginning to wind down, they also produced this silly, sex-spoof mini.

Magazine sized?

Earthworm Comix #1 Published by: Underground Comix Group; Contributors: Bill O'Connell; Stanley Hurwitz;Ellen Wineberg; Bruce Grand Pre; Dave Fitzpatrick; Kieth Gamble; Jim Gaudet; Date: 1970; Price: 25 cents; Page Count: 12 pages; Size: tabloid (11.25 x 17.25); Kennedy #: 635; Print information: one printing; number of copies unknown; Another underground project launched by persons who probably had spent most their time, energy and enthusiasm on creating/publishing, instead of distribution/sales planning. Copies of Earthworm are rare to uncommon in the on-line market.

Depraved Comix Published by: New Wave Productions; Contributors: Tommy Donohue; Quentin Bufogle; Date: 1982; Price: $2.25; Page Count: 52 pages; Size: magazine (7.5 x 11.0); Kennedy #: not cited; Print information: one printing; 1000 copies; Published around the time that the Kennedy Guide was being printed, Depraved Comix wasn't listed within any guide until the FUGG 2015/16. It could be one of last "underground" colour cover magazines ever produced.